Week 11 Rewind
By Brian Edwards
With all eyes upon him after a dubious nine-day stretch, Cam Newton played another spectacular game to lead unbeaten Auburn to a 49-31 win over Georgia as a seven-point home favorite.
For 3 ½ hours Saturday, Newton and Auburn were able to forget about the off-the-field soap opera that has captivated college football for more than a week. But the pay-for-play saga is far from over and for the next 13 days, Gene Chizik’s team will remain engulfed in controversy leading up to the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa on Nov 26.
Newton has been shut off completely from the media and Auburn officials have essentially ‘lawyered up.’ Chizik and AU athletics director Jay Jacobs have had nothing but ‘no comments’ for the media in regards to the Newton situation ever since Friday.
On Friday night, an Atlanta television station (WSBTV) reported that Cecil Newton admitted to having conversations about money for his son to play at Mississippi St. with former MSU player Kenny Rogers. However, the elder Newton insisted that Auburn, his wife and his son had no knowledge of the talks and that no money ever exchanged hands.
What did exchange hands was the football from Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray to All-American wide receiver A.J. Green in the early going at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Murray found Green for a second scoring strike from 40 yards out to give the Dawgs a 21-7 advantage late in the first quarter.
But Newton brought the Tigers back into a 21-21 tie by intermission. When his work was done, he had rushed for 151 yards and passed for 148 more. And, oh yeah, Newton ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more.
Whether he’ll still be able to play against Alabama remains unclear for now, but we know Auburn will be without a pair of starters from the defensive line for at least the first half against the Crimson Tide. Senior DE Michael Goggans and senior DT Mike Blanc were ejected from the game for fighting, which by SEC rule automatically results in missing the first half of the next game.
The melee came one play after Auburn junior DT Nick Fairley put his helmet into Murray’s left knee, causing the signal caller to limp off the field. Fairley hit Murray consistently late on several occasions, although he was only flagged for it once. Fortunately for UGA, early indications were that Murray’s knee injury wasn’t serious.
Auburn will face South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Gamecocks won the SEC East for the first time by trouncing Florida 36-14 at The Swamp as 6 ½-point road underdogs. Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries.
The Gators have lost three straight at home for the first time since 1989. They got a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown to start the game, but it was all Steve Spurrier’s team for the next 59 minutes and change. At intermission when South Carolina had a 15-7 lead thanks to three field goals from Spencer Lanning, it had the lead in total yards (209-51) and first downs (16-2) by whopping margins.
When South Carolina goes to Atlanta, it will be trying to avenge a 35-27 loss at Auburn earlier this year. The Gamecocks had a 20-7 lead at one point in that game.
Wisconsin hung an 83-spot on Indiana in the biggest blowout of Week 11. For a brief time Saturday, it appeared the Badgers might be right in the thick of the national-title conversation. But then TCU rallied from a 14-0 deficit, took a big lead on San Diego St., and then held off the Aztecs by a 40-35 count.
Brady Hoke has done an excellent job with San Diego St. this year. The Aztecs hooked up their backers as 27 ½-point road underdogs.
Like the Horned Frogs, Oregon was fortunate to escape Week 11 unscathed. The Ducks won a 15-13 decision at California, but the Bears easily covered the spread as 20-point home underdogs. They missed a short 29-yard field that would’ve given them the lead in the fourth quarter.
Boise State’s hopes of getting to a BCS Championship Game could’ve used Oregon and/or TCU going down, but its stock had to improve a little over the weekend. For starters, Chris Petersen’s squad dominated at Idaho on Friday night with an easy 52-14 win. Then the Ducks and Horned Frogs struggled, while Va. Tech won for a seventh straight time and stayed unbeaten in the ACC.
The Hokies represent Boise’s best win and it came after a long trip to Washington D.C. Also, Baylor and Utah lost and those teams are the best that TCU has beaten.
Northwestern upset Iowa 21-17 as a 10-point home underdog, but the Wildcats lost their starting QB Dan Persa for the rest of the season. Persa ruptured his Achilles’ tendon after throwing the go-ahead touchdown. Pat Fitzgerald’s team hooked up money-line backers with a plus-300 payout (paid $300 on $100 wagers).
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
Ron Zook is probably back on the hot seat after Illinois let a double-digit lead get away in the fourth quarter of a 38-34 home loss to Minnesota. The Gophers won outright as 21-point road underdogs. They brought home an 11/1 return to gamblers that took them on the money line (paid $1,000 on $100 wagers).
After Saturday’s embarrassing home loss, UF's Urban Meyer said, “We just didn’t execute. We’re just not very good.”
Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun, who is normally one of the biggest 'homers' in the sports journamlism business, called for change and a pink slip for Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio in his postgame column after the Gators' biggest home loss since Miami blasted UF by a 41-16 count eight years ago.
The Denver Post reported Saturday that Colorado was interested in talking to Georgia head coach Mark Richt about his vacant head-coaching job. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Richt laughed at the report following his team's sixth loss of the year at Auburn.
Washington St. was the biggest underdog of Week 11 to win outright, thumping Oregon St. 31-14 as a 23 ½-point road underdog in Corvallis.
Notre Dame picked up one of its best wins of the season, trouncing Utah 28-3 as a home underdog without its starting quarterback.
Miami dealt out woodshed treatment in its trip to The Flats, spanking Ga. Tech by a 35-10 count as a 2 ½-point road favorite. Both teams were playing without its starting QBs.
N.C. St. only led Wake Forest 10-3 at halftime, but the Wolfpack pulled away for a 38-3 win over the Deacs to take the cash as a 20 ½-point home favorite. Jim Grobe's team is now 0-5 both SU and ATS on the road, losing those games by 44, 31, 31, 48 and 35. Ouch!
FSU won on a walk-off field goal by Dustin Hopkins, whose kick gave the ‘Noles a 16-13 win over Clemson. However, the Tigers covered the number as 6 ½-point underdogs. E.J. Manuel started at QB when Christian Ponder couldn’t go due to a sore elbow, guiding FSU back from a 10-3 deficit at halftime.
Brooks from SportsByBrooks undressed ESPN’s Joe Schad early in the weekend for his reporting on the Cam Newton Saga, calling it erroneous.
vegasinsider.com
News and Notes
By Phil Steele
Indiana was hanging with Wisconsin early. The game was tied at 10 early 2Q and 17-10 when Indy missed a 52 yd FG with 5:46 left in the 2Q. QB Chappell was inj’d for IU and that was the key to the game. UW went 66/2pl for a TD to make it 24-10 then Chappell’s replacement, Edward Wright-Baker, lost a fmbl on his first snap and UW went 29 yds for a TD then after a 22 yd PR, went 46/5pl for a TD with :21 left in the half to make it 38-10 and turn it into a blowout. The Badgers’ 83 pts were the most they scored since 1915 and the most for a Big Ten conf game since 1950 when Ohio St scored 83 vs Iowa. It was the most pts by an FBS school this season.
Illinois needed a win to become bowl eligible and it appeared they had a lay up hosting Minnesota who came in as losers of 9 straight. Unfortunately, leading 7-0 in the 2Q they would give up 2 TD’s and a FG with 1 TD coming after UI was SOD on 4&5 at the UM22. They trailed 17-7 at the half. UI rallied. They got a TD with 10:44 left to lead 27-24 and Leshoure got a 55 yd TD run with 8:14 left to apparently clinch it 34-24. UM got a 92 yd KR to the 4 and got a TD with 7:55 left. After 3 punts, UM took over with 2:44 left and converted on 3&10 at their own 20 and went 80/10pl getting a 2 yd TD run with :16 left to pull off the upset.
Michigan/Purdue was played on a rainy, windy day and each team had 5 TO’s. UM got a 58 yd FR TD and jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Their 2nd TD was a 38 yd drive after a 9 yd punt. With UM up 14-3 PU got a 94 yd IR TD and only trailed 14-13 at the half. UM was clinging to a 20-16 lead when PU got off a 28 yd punt with 5:59 left and UM went 49/9pl for a TD with 1:58 to clinch it. UM had 21-12 FD and 495-256 yd edges.
Vanderbilt had not gained over 240 yards in any SEC game all year but had 242 at the half vs Kentucky. As had been the case all season long, UK played a much better 2H. Joker Phillips was incensed at half and left the locker room 10:00 early telling the seniors they should be embarrassed for their performance on Senior Day and to discuss it among themselves. The team came out fired up in the 2H and would storm to a 38-13 lead with 5:32 left. VU got a TD with 2:33 left to pull within 18 but the onside kick went OOB.
Kent St had the nation’s #1 rush D allowing just 69.4 ypg but Army ran for 233 yards on them.
Boston College/Duke was an interesting game. BC had a chance to put it away and leading 21-6, faced a 3&4 at the Duke9 when Harris fmbl’d for the 2nd time inside the 15 and this time Duke’s Campbell ret’d it 95 yds for a TD, a 14 pt swing to put Duke back in the game, 21-16. After 3 punts, Duke took over at their 37 with 4:52 left and went 59/12pl but on 4&gl, fired incomplete from the BC4 yd line down by 5.
Tennessee has won at least 3 conf games every year since 1977 but finally got Derek Dooley’s first SEC win with their 52-14 wipeout of Mississippi. QB Bray threw for 265 yds in the 1H with UT rushing for just 7 and UT finished with a 441-295 yd edge. UT led 14-0 when they got a 46 yd IR TD to go up 21-0 and led 31-14 at the half. They added a 10 yd IR TD early 3Q to turn it into a blowout and in the 2H UM had just 1 drive across midfield until they trailed 52-14 and less than 5:00 remained.
Dan Persa put together a heroic effort. Northwestern trailed Iowa 17-7 and the Hawkeyes were int’d at the NU5 with 10:56 left. Persa led an 85/13pl drive for a TD with 6:21 left then a 91 yd drive and his 20 yd TD pass to Fields with 1:22 left put them in the lead. Unfortunately Persa tore his Achilles on the play and will be out the rest of the year. It was the Wildcats’ 3rd straight upset of Iowa. Iowa actually had just 4 FD’s in the 1H and trailed 7-3 but scored on their first 2 poss of the 3Q for their 17-7 lead. NU finished with a 26-17 FD edge.
Louisville was without QB Froman vs USF. UL got an 11 yd drive for a TD after a USF fmbl early and USF got a spectacular 100 yd KR by Lamar to trail 14-10 at the half. USF led 21-14 and UL got a TD with 1:21 left then USF missed a 52 yd FG. They actually made a 52 yd FG but a time-out was called and they missed it on the final pay of regulation. UL was SOD on 4&1 and USF hit a 37 yd FG for the win.
Both Miami, Fl and Georgia Tech started backup QB’s. UM’s Stephen Morris hit 10-18-230 yds while GT’s Tevin Washington hit 7-16-101 but had 122 yds rushing on 21 carries. UM jumped out to a 14-0 lead and had a fmbl ret’d for a TD overturned by review and it was 14-3 at the half after UM dropped a TD pass on 3&10 late 2Q. GT did fmbl at the UM6 but UM was SOD on 4&gl at the 1. When GT had a 2nd & 5 at the UM9 and fmbl’d, there were hardly any fans left in the stadium in UM’s 35-10 win.
UCF jumped out to a 14-0 lead vs Southern Miss but SM would rally to lead 17-14 at the half and scored TD’s on their 2nd & 3rd 2H poss while UCF missed a 30 yd FG and SM cruised to a 31-21 win keeping the Golden Eagles in the CUSA Title chase.
BYU dominated vs Colorado St. BYU fmbl’d on their first poss but scored TD’s on their next 5 poss to lead 35-0 at half. It was 49-3 when CSU went 80/8pl for a garbage TD with 3:07 left. BYU got a 74 yd run to the 5 yd line and took a knee.
Missouri and Kansas St played an even 1H. Trailing 21-14, KSU went 66/10pl. They had a 1st & gl at the 1 with :22 left in the half when they fmbl’d the C exchange and MO rec’d at the 7 and led by 3 at the half. MO got a 53 yd FR TD then after another fmbl got a 33 yd FG. KSU had 4 crucial fmbl’s. MO extended the lead to 38-14 early 4Q. KSU got a TD with 6:55 left and forced a punt with 4:28 left. KSU converted on 3&10, 4&5, 3&16 and got a 26 yd TD pass with 1:11 left. Both had 22 FD’s and the yards were almost even with Missouri having a slight 440-422 yd edge.
West Virginia had a 29-15 FD edge vs Cincinnati and a 419-281 yd edge and led 30-3 at the half. Trailing 14-7 UC was int’d in the EZ for a TB on FD from the 14. After a punt, WV got a 48 yd TD pass then after a 25 yd PR and pers foul, WV drove 60/3pl for a TD to lead 28-0 and coasted in the 2H.
Wake Forest actually had a 9-7 FD edge vs NC State at the half and a 137-126 yd edge. The key play of the game happened at the end of the half. WF went on a 13pl drive and faced a 4&gl at the 2 trailing 10-3 with a chance to tie it, they lost a yard. NCSt scored a TD to open the 3Q and then WF fmbl’d a punt on their 17 setting up another NCSt TD and the Wolfpack went on to a 38-3 win as WF had run a conservative gameplan trying to run the ball and shorten the game and did have a 110-59 yd rushing edge.
Oklahoma extended the nation’s longest home win streak to 36 and got revenge for the previous year’s 41-13 loss to TT. Each team opened with a TD but then OU rolled to a 38-7 halftime lead and 45-7 after 3Q’s, even missing a 35 yd FG in the 4Q and fmbl’ing at the TT37 late. OU had a 562-326 yd edge.
Washington St got their first P10 win since the 2008 Apple Cup and the Beavers lost for the first time in 7 games at Reser Stadium. They now have USC, Stanford and Oregon left and need to win 2 of the 3 just to become bowl eligible. WSU had a 214-124 yd edge at the half and OSU was booed heading into the locker room trailing 14-0. WSU led 24-7 and it was 24-14 when OSU was SOD at their own 38 with 4:47 left and the Cougars tacked on a TD 4pl later.
Memphis looked like they had a shot at the win with a 10-0 lead at the half but Marshall scored TD’s on 3 of their first four 3Q poss to jump to a 21-10 lead and got a 62 yd TD pass with 6:18 left, up 21-13 to ice it in their 15 pt win.
Central Michigan had a FG with :15 left in the half to take their first lead of the game, 24-21 but Navy battled back to lead 38-24 with 7:27 left. CM got a TD with 3:04 left and then Navy was ready for the onside kick and kicked deep so Navy started at their 20. They got 1 FD & punted with 1:04 left and CM went 80/8pl getting a TD with :04 left but the 2 pt for the win failed.
An amazing stat coming in was that Penn St had never had a TD pass in 8 tries in Big Ten play at Ohio Stadium. Walk-on Matt McGloin got two TD passes in the 1H and PSU jumped out to a 14-3 lead over the Buckeyes. OSU rallied, thanks in part to 34 and 30 yd IR TD’s in the 2H. The latter put the Bucks up 31-14 with 8:02 left. They got the ball with 7:10 left and marched 78/7pl and threw a 3 yd TD pass with 3:59 left for the 38-14 final.
One week after TJ Yates set a school record for passing yards, he had 4 int’s and NC turned the ball over six times. NC led VT 10-6 over VT and 10-9 at the half but imploded with 6 TO’s in the 2H. The Tar Heels were int’d at the VT21. A punt did not appear to hit the returnman but was ruled a fmbl and VT rec’d it, setting up a 21 yd drive for a TD. NC had a 1st & gl at the 2 but fmbl’d and VT kicked it out of the EZ for a TB. NC was int’d at the 2 and int’d at the 13 as well and could not overcome 6 TO’s in the 26-10 loss.
TCU did have 27-7 FD and 466-300 yd edges vs the Aztecs. SDSt fell on a fmbl in the EZ for a def TD to lead 14-0 but at the half TCU was firmly in control, 34-14 with a 318-85 yd edge. The Frogs had leads of 37-14 and 40-21 in the 4Q and were at the Aztec13 with 9:05 left when they were int’d. The Aztecs went 88/6pl getting a 33 yd TD pass with 6:43 left then after a 29 yd PR got a 35/1pl TD pass with 4:50 left to pull within 40-35. TCU got 3 FD’s getting to the SDS19 where they took a knee.
Colorado blew a big lead vs Kansas last week and it got Dan Hawkins fired. Hawkins was very supportive since his son was the QB and was even at the stadium for the game vs Iowa St. Once again, CU got out to a big lead, this time after a 45 yd FR with 11:22 left and they led 34-7. Iowa St scored a TD with 8:11 left and got to the CU12 where they were SOD on their last gasp with 4:41 left. Cody Hawkins had a 13th TD connection with Scottie McKnight which set a school record for a TD duo.
Mississippi St was off a bye but Alabama was coming in off a loss. MSU made a game of it early vs the Tide as they settled for a 24 yd FG and it was 3-3 late 1Q. Bama got a 45 yd FG and the team’s punted 3 straight times then Bama got a 45 yd TD pass with 7:09 left to make it 13-3. After a PR TD was called back, on the first play Bama threw a screen to Ingram who took it 78 yds for a TD to lead 20-3. Bama’s first 3Q play went 56 yds for a TD, 27-3. At the end of the game, Bama got an IR to the MSU22 and from the 3 they fmbl’d into the EZ for a TB with :43 left. Bama’s last TD drive was led by backup QB McCarron.
20:00 prior to game time, Nebraska played a highlight of Tuner Gill’s playing days at NU. The Huskers evidently took it easy on him. Taylor Martinez, who played just 1 play vs Iowa St, was limited by design and had just 11 rushes in the game. NU got a TD with :33 left in the 1Q and a 54/9pl drive then went 75/9pl for a TD with 3:01 left to lead 14-0. The Huskers had a 193-47 yd edge. KU was limited to 5 FD’s for the game and NU had a 397-87 yd edge in the lackluster 20-3 win.
LSU had been eliminated in the SEC West race prior to ULM and defense got them the margin. In the 1H ULM had a 116-90 yd edge but LSU led 23-0. The Tigers had a 32 yd IR TD and they had scoring drives of 14 (after 24 yd PR), 19 (after 34 yd punt), 12 (after 85 yd IR) and 14 (after fmbl) yds to lead 23-0 at half. Their longest drive of the game came after ULM was int’d at the LSU23 with 12:46 left as they drove 66/10pl for their final TD to go up 51-0. For the game LSU had a 251-190 yd edge.
RARE BOWL ELIGIBLE TEAMS: Syracuse got to bowl eligibility in a tight one vs Rutgers where they were actually favored on the road. RU used frosh Jeremy Deering out of the Wildcat and he rushed for 166 yards. It was tied at 10 when RU missed a 45 yd FG with 3:51 left and SU went 66/11pl getting a 24 yd FG with 1:07 left. RU got to their 40 but on 4&17 was SOD with :06 left. RU had a 305-280 yd edge.
The East Carolina/UAB game had a couple of key plays. The biggest was a coaching blunder by UAB just before half. UAB led the entire 1H and was up 21-17. They pinned EC at the 3 yd line after a punt. EC faced a 3&8 with :53 left in the half. UAB took a time-out to get the ball back at midfield with a chance to extend the lead. Unfortunately, after the time out the play was whistled ready. EC trotted on the field and lined up for the play, UAB was still in their defensive huddle. UAB def players started to sprint towards the play but EC snapped the ball with UAB in chaos on D. EC threw a short screen pass to the left to Williams who naturally was wide open and raced 77 yards to the UAB18. EC got a TD 2pl later to stunningly take the lead, 24-21 at the half when it appeared they might be down 2 scores at the half. UAB still controlled the 3Q and led 42-34 with 9:41 left. EC got a TD with 8:18 left but missed the 2 pt conversion to make it 42-40. Two spec teams plays then gave EC the win. They got a 56 yd PR to the 11 then on 3&10, an 11 yd TD pass made it 48-42. UAB fumbled the KO at their own 28 and EC got a TD 4pl later. UAB’s last drive was 12pl but was SOD at the EC20.
Notre Dame had the situational edge vs Utah as they were fresh off a bye and played like it while Utah was off a bubble bursting loss to TCU. ND was banged up and gave Tommy Rees the start at QB. There were a couple of key plays. ND blocked a punt and ret’d it for a TD late 1Q to take a 7-3 lead then got 1 drive in the 1H of 61/3pl to lead 14-3. Utah actually had a 118-95 yd edge at the half. Utah fumbled the opening KO of the 3Q and ND got a 26 yd TD pass on the next play. ND got its 2nd big drive of the game going 63/5pl for a TD to lead 28-3. Utah was SOD on 4&gl at the 8, 4&13 at the ND15 and then on 4&19 from the ND37 with 3:13 left on what would be their final 3 poss. Utah actually had 16-13 FD and 265-256 yd edges.
The story of the week in college ball were the allegations swirling around Cam Newton but he did not let it have an effect on his play and maintained his status as the clear-cut Heisman frontrunner. Georgia actually had 21-7 lead after 1Q as Murray found Green with 31 and 40 yd TD passes. AJ Green had 9 catches for 164 yds. They key play happened late 1H when facing a 3&8 and maybe settling for a FG, Newton ran 13 yds for a FD and 2pl later hit an 18 yd TD pass to tie the game, 21-21. Two more key plays happened in the 2H to turn it into a blowout. Auburn onside kicked to open the 2H and rec’d and went 59/9pl for a TD. Leading 35-31 AUB drove 79/13pl for a TD with 8:05 left and then UGA went for it on 4&13 at its own 27 and was SOD and AU tacked on a TD 7pl later with 2:45 left although it appeared Newton fumbled before he crossed the goal line.
There were some key plays in the Stanford/Arizona St game. ASU played well vs Stanford holding their rush offense to just 9 yds rushing in the 1H. Early 2Q on 2&gl at the Stan3 ASU QB Threet fumbled into the EZ for a touchback and ASU did not score. It was 7-7 at half with Stanford missing a 34 yd FG with :16 left. ASU missed an xp after a TD that put them ahead 13-10. On SU’s go ahead drive, LB Vontaze Burfict was called for a face mask pen although replay showed he did not touch the face mask. That gave SU a FD at the 7 and they got a TD 2pl later. SU backer cringed when on 2&6 from the 23 Wilkerson took off with a clear TD in sight but sat down at the 4 and they took a knee 2x.
The kicking game was a major culprit in Baylor’s loss to Texas A&M. The Bears had a 503-427 yd edge and even led this one 30-14 late 1H. A&M got a TD with 2:00 left in 1H to pull within 9. BU went on a long drive to end the 1H going 47/14pl but had a 41 yd FG blk’d. The blk’d FG was almost ret’d for a TD but they were tkl’d at the 1. BU opened the 3Q with a 74/15pl drive. Once again they settled for and missed a FG so 2 long drives resulted in zero pts due to the kicking game. After BU punted from its EZ and kick/catch interf, A&M went 27/2pl for a TD late 3Q to take the lead, 35-30. BU went 53/11pl but again settled for a 39 yd FG and missed it again with 11:28 left. BU on 4&1 was SOD at their own 44 and A&M tacked on a TD 6pl later with 6:02 left for their 12 pt win.
Thanks to recovering a fumble at the Arkansas St 10 and an int at the 49 which up short TD drives, WKU beat ASU 36-35. ASU would go on 3 consecutive TD drives of 69, 52 and 96 yds, the latter for a TD with just 1:49 left in the game. ASU appeared to win the game when WKU, on 4&5 gained 2 yds to their own 46 with just 1:10 left. ASU ran it 3x and punted but they bobbled the punt snap and lost 29 yds back to their 22. The D appeared to hold but on 4&12 WKU got a 17 yd pass to the 7 then on 4&gl on the last play of the game, got a TD to force OT. Each team got a TD in OT but WKU went for 2 after theirs and got it for the miracle win.
Louisiana was without their top 2 QB’s vs FAU and Blaine Gautier got the start. Gautier hit 21-36-254. FAU had leads of 14-0, 21-7 and 24-14. UL forced a punt with 2:58 left trailing 24-17 and got a 43 yd TD pass with 1:45 left but opted to go for 2 and it failed. FAU recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
It was a wild game between Utah St and San Jose St. SJSt actually jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The team’s alternated TD’s and the lead in the 2H. SJSt got a TD with 5:25 left to take a 34-31 lead. USt had a 4&12 and got an 18 yd QB run by Borel to the 19 to keep alive their final drive. On 3&6 Speight’s 15-yard TD run gave them the 38-34 lead. SJSt got a pair of 27 yd passes to the 22 with :15 left but on FD was int’d in the EZ for a TB.
Cal held Oregon to 317 yards, by far their fewest of the season. Cal took the early lead on a 49/6pl drive for a TD and the Ducks would score only 2 TD’s vs Cal, one came on a 64 yard PR TD and the other came on a 29 yard drive after a fumble. UO’s PR TD came with 6:34 left in the 2Q to make it 8-7. Cal fumbled on the 2nd play of the 3Q setting up UO’s 2nd TD on a 29/1pl TD pass to Maehl. UO slapped the ball out of QB Thomas’ hands and recovered for a TD but missed the 2 pt conversion. A key play of the game happened early 4Q. Cal made a 24 yd FG for the lead, 16-15 but the K took a step early so illegal motion was called. They still had a chipshot 29 yarder for the lead but missed it. UO was SOD at the Cal36 with 11:31 left and Cal got 1 FD and punted with 9:25 left. The Ducks then went on the longest drive of the year, a 65/18pl drive and finished the game taking a knee at the Cal 12 yard line.
UTEP gave Arkansas a better game than the final score would indicate. The Miners got a 51 yd TD run on the game’s 6th play for a 7-0 lead and then got an 88 yard IR TD 4 plays later but defensive pass interference gave Arkansas a FD and Mallett got a 14 yard TD run on the next play, 7-7. UTEP got a 100 yard KR TD but Arkansas ran an end around for a 70 yard TD, 14-14. UTEP drove again with a 51/5pl drive but missed a 44 yard FG and Arkansas would score TD’s on their next 3 possessions. UTEP’s final 1H drive went 61/13pl but they bobbled the snap on a 36 yd FG and missed it. At the half Arkansas only had a 341-265 yd edge and led 35-14. Arkansas opened the 3Q with 2 drives for TD’s and a FG drive. UTEP got a 60 yard TD pass to make it 52-21 but Arkansas went 77/14pl getting a TD with 5:31 left to close the scoring.
Texas was a rare home dog to Oklahoma St. The Longhorns had overcome 3 double digits deficits in the past 5 years vs OSU but in their wildly inept 2010 performances, the Longhorns were mostly non-competitive after the start of the 2Q. The game was tied at 3 at the end of 1Q but OSU went 63/11pl for a TD then got a 67 yd TD pass to lead 16-3. OSU punted but then went 59/6pl and got a TD with 1:15 left in the half, 23-3. UT was int’d 3pl later and OSU added a 45 yd FG for a 26-3 lead. OSU extended it to 33-3 before UT went on a 77/7pl drive and 78/13pl drive for TD’s, the latter with 6:32 left. UT opted to kick away and OSU got 3 FD’s before finally fumbling with :44 left.
FIU had 3 players top 100 yards rushing. Darriet Perry rushed for 186, T.Y. Hilton for 158, Darrian Mallary for 118. FIU rolled up 442 yards in the 1H vs Troy jumping out to a 31-7 lead and it was 38-21 at the half with Troy getting the last TD with :27 left in the half. FIU opened it up to 45-21 and Troy narrowed it to 45-35 after 3Q’s. FIU missed a 30 yd FG but then went 79/4pl with a 23 yd TD pass with 9:01 left to make it 52-35 and Troy was int’d at the FIU23 and SOD at the FIU49 on their last 2 possessions.
Fresno nearly pulled the upset of Nevada as they jumped out to a 14-7 lead and missed a 55 yard FG. They led 17-7 when NU got a TD with 1:01 left 1H. FSU fumbled 2pl later and Nevada got a TD 2pl later with :34 left for a stunning 21-17 lead. FSU battled back to a 31-28 lead then went 63/11pl for a 34 yd FG, 34-28. NU went 58/13pl but on 4&1 was SOD at the FSU8 with 8:37 left. FSU went 3 & out and NV went 54/7pl with a Taua 24 yd TD run, 35-34. FSU was SOD at its own 45 with 1:27 left.
Clemson blew a couple opportunities vs Florida St but there was also a couple of big plays that helped CU. On the opening drive of the game, CU punted but FSU was called for defensive holding on the punt giving them a FD and they would continue on an 82/12pl drive for a TD and a 7-0 lead. EJ Manuel got his first start for Florida St and on the first play hit a 53 yard pass but they settled for a 28 yd FG. CU had a 34 yard FG blocked then recovered a punt at the 10 and settled for a 22 yard FG, 10-3. CU got to the FSU32 but was int’d in the EZ with :22 left in the half. CU did have a 209-79 yard edge at the half. FSU, leading 13-10, had the ball at the CU44. On 2&10 FSU got a 40 yd pass to the 4 yd line which would have allowed them to go up by 2 scores after a TD but he just stepped on the white line and it was ruled incomplete and they punted with 4:11 left. CU went 68/9pl and got a 29 yd FG with :53 left to tie but FSU went 34/7pl and nailed a 55 yard FG on the final play for the win.
Arizona and USC each had 24 FD’s. AU had 404-382 yd edge. There were a couple of keys to the game. Each team went on a long drive on its opening poss with AU going 63/14pl and USC 80/10pl. The major difference was that AU missed a 34 yd FG and USC converted for a TD and a 7-0 lead. AU was sk’d & fumbled at their own 22 and USC got a TD 3pl later. In fact, neither team punted in the 1H. AU went on a 9pl drive for a TD and USC a 17pl drive for a TD. A major key came in the fact they’d settled for a 28 yd FG but faked the FG and got a FD to the 4. It was 21-14 at the half USC with AU having a 242-214 yd edge. Early 3Q AU fumbled at the USC15. USC was int’d at the AU31 late 3Q. AU had a 4&3 at the USC25 and converted for a crucial FD but offensive holding made it 4&13 and they punted 35 yds to the 6 early 4Q. USC went on a 12pl drive 2 possessions later. On 4&2 they were SOD at the AU15 with 2:10 left. AU got a TD with 1:01 left. Interestingly, their xp was blk’d and ret’d for 2 but a pen had them rekick and the xp put AU within 3 but USC rec’d the onside kick and took a knee.
In a preview of what may happen in some games prior to the Championship games this week, South Carolina last week played their “C” game vs Arkansas the previous week, as it meant nothing. All that mattered to them was what they did vs Florida. Marcus Lattimore looked like he was injured vs Arkansas but looked 100% vs UF and rushed for 212 yards on 40 carries. SC flat out dominated Florida. The Gators ret’d the opening KO for a TD and the rest of the 1H belonged to the Gamecocks. They had 15-2 FD and 209-51 yard edges. SC may have trouble with teams that can pass the ball but UF is a running team. UF is also unusually susceptible to strong running teams and against Lattimore it showed. It was interesting watching ESPN and seeing Lou Holtz declare the game over at halftime saying that UF had not chance of winning the game. But, if you watched the 1H, you would have agreed with him. The Gators, with a chance to actually get back to the SEC Title game in what was a down year, failed miserably. There was a brief glimmer of hope when they scored a TD with 7:12 left to make it 29-14 but they fumbled at their own 25 with 4:57 left and Lattimore sledgehammered into the EZ for an 11 yard run with 2:43 left to finish off any pipe dreams they might have had. For the game SC had a 24-11 FD edge and South Carolina is off to their first SEC Title game.
Fourth Quarter Covers
By Joe Nelson
Here is a look back at the spread result changing plays and sequences from last weekend's college games from the second weekend of November and the week 10 NFL results. There were several close and controversial finishes last week, particularly in the NFL that left backers on both sides watching intently through the closing seconds.
Miami, OH led Bowling Green 21-7 entering the fourth quarter with dominant yardage and first down edges. Set-up in good field position Bowling Green put together consecutive scoring drives to tie the game. Late in the fourth quarter an interception stalled the comeback attempt and on the final play of the game Miami was able to convert a field foal for the win.
UAB led East Carolina 35-27 entering the fourth quarter as slight home favorites Thursday night. The Pirates scored first in the final frame but UAB immediately answered to keep the eight-point margin. East Carolina took over in the fourth quarter with 20 consecutive points, greatly aided by two big special teams plays, getting a 56-yard punt return and a UAB fumble on a kickoff to set-up two scores.
Virginia led Maryland 23-21 entering the fourth quarter before Maryland scored three unanswered touchdowns to create a misleading final score. Two interceptions in the fourth quarter contributed to poor finish and the ball stayed on the Virginia side of the 50 yards line the entire fourth quarter.
Syracuse and Rutgers were tied 10-10 entering the fourth quarter in a defensive battle. Rutgers closed as a 2.5-point underdog at home and the Knights had two drives into the edge of scoring territory but came away with no points, missing on a long field goal attempt. That miss gave some life to Syracuse who marched down the field with an eleven play try to hit the game winning field goal with just over a minute to go.
Northwestern has lost several games in the fourth quarter this season but they turned the tables last week with a comeback win against Iowa. The Hawkeyes were up ten entering the final frame with most lines closing at -9.5 or -10. After an interception Northwestern cut the margin to just three with just over six minutes to go and then after a strong defensive series the Wildcats went 91 yards in the closing minutes to take the lead with just over a minute to go.
Kentucky led Vanderbilt 24-13 entering the fourth quarter after trailing by three at halftime. Two big plays keyed the narrow cover for the Wildcats with a 55-yard pass play and an 83-yard run in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt added a late touchdown to get within 18 points, just shy of the closing spread.
Auburn led Georgia just 35-31 entering the fourth quarter, rallying from an early deficit. The Tigers would pull away in fourth quarter to get by the spread as Georgia’s offense stalled on their last two possessions.
Missouri led 31-14 against Kansas State entering the fourth quarter and quickly extended that lead to 24-points with a score early in the final quarter. With Missouri playing soft defense Kansas State would score a touchdown with a two-point conversion to get within 14 points. With just over a minute to go Kansas State scored again, cutting the lead to ten and taking the backdoor spread win.
Penn State led 14-3 at halftime against Ohio State before the Buckeyes rallied. An interception return touchdown gave Ohio State the lead 17-14 and early in the fourth quarter Ohio State connected on a 58-yard pass play to go up ten. On the next possession another interception return touchdown pushed the lead to 17, inching closer to the spread. With less than four minutes to go Ohio State scored again to get by the number and the Penn State offense netted eight total yards in four fourth quarter drives.
South Florida slowly chipped away at an early Louisville lead to get within a single point heading into the fourth quarter. The Bulls connected for a 48-yard pass play early in the fourth quarter and also hit on the two-point conversion to go up by seven. Louisville tied the game late to force overtime as a slight favorite but the Cardinals failed at the goal line, going for it on fourth and one, and allowing South Florida to conservatively set up a game winning field goal.
Louisiana Tech led by just seven against New Mexico State entering the fourth quarter and that was the margin with just five minutes to go in the game. The Bulldogs broke a 62-yard run late to go up 14, still shy of the spread. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled and the Bulldogs were set up in great field position, rushing out the clock but breaking through for a score to earn the spread win with just over a minute to go